Nothing is original, just unique to the moment in which it is experienced. In the third part of his essay, Eduardo Navas analyzes Adornos book Minima Moralia and shows that even his idiosyncratic writing is built from «samples». An shorter version of this article was published in the Norient book Seismographic Sounds (see and order here).

To understand at what point a basic element may be composed into something that would be deemed «original», we must consider how we agree that we share basic building blocks in all forms which we then customize for a specific individual vision. Our focus so far has been words; and for this particular form Google’s basic search feature can be implemented to show how words and phrases are in fact building blocks, which once they become part of an archive can function as samples. One can perform text searches on parts of a composition in order to see if the results at the top correspond directly with the text source. If this happens than we can consider the phrase a sample: a specific combination of words created by a specific person, and part of a specific text. Given that the phrases are formed of pre-existing elements then what we are dealing with at this point is really a unique set of combined basic elements, which in turn are created with smaller units (words, and letters). We need a case study to see how this works.

We could take any text that is available on the Web. But it serves best to take a well-known work, or a work that is considered unique in the way it was written. Literary works such as Ulysses by James Joyce, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Beloved by Toni Morrison, or The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison can all be found online, and are promising case studies due to the fact that they have been analyzed by many scholars, and taught in numerous classes. [1] For this essay, I will share part of my ongoing research on a book that is not as widely taught as those mentioned, but was just as carefully written, and available will serve well as a good case study to understand how we may come to consider something to be produced specifically by a single person who in turn may claim it as intellectual property.

153 Aphorisms

I have been doing extensive analysis of Theodor Adorno’s book Minima Moralia[2], which consists of 153 aphorisms on all things relevant to living in a world that is increasingly mediated and commodified. I decided to analyze Adorno’s book for multiple reasons. First, I wanted to see if and how his apparently extreme criticism of culture, society, and media may still be relevant in a time of networked production. Another reason, which is directly relevant to this essay, is that due to his persistent critical position on what he considered mindless repetition, it is worthwhile to see if what he professed in theory was part of his actual writing practice. [3] For the argument on sampling that I am proposing here, Adorno’s analysis is relevant in terms of how unique his sentence constructions may be. To evaluate this, I search on Google phrases, parts of phrases, or single words, devoid of any punctuation. I record them as part of a blog entry with corresponding links that provide the results. The reader can click on any of the links and be taken to respective search results, which will change according to Google’s updates on its search engine. [4]

Minima Moralia text cloud. Picture: minimamoraliaredux.blogspot.com.

What the linking of phrases or words for entries of Minima Moralia makes evident is how we come to develop what we may consider original content. When I input a complete sentence into Google, Adorno’s publication appears at the top of the search, which means that Google is able to recognize the string of terms as a direct «sample» of Adorno’s writing. For this reason I break down each sentence into sequences that give the most diverse results that do not lead directly to Adorno. What becomes evident in this process is how we develop individual work that may appear «original» from pre-existing elements.

A single word search is likely to provide the most diverse result on Google with a dictionary definition of the word at the top of the page, which as we know is our basic building block in terms of composing phrases and actual sentences. What becomes apparent in this analysis is that the more specific the string of words, the more likely one is to reach a specific «sample» that may be deemed the original work of a particular person. [5] This research, in effect, exposes not only how we create meaning, but also how we come to claim it as specific to a particular author. It is always based on the recognition of patterns; this is also applicable to all media, not just writing. Corporations who scan YouTube for infringement of copyright use a similar process for video and audio. [6]

When Data Become Intensities

In effect, the text-mining of Minima Moralia exposes that what we tend to recognize as someone’s creation in any media is really a specific combination of elements that are mashed together by producers according to what they want to communicate, or express. In other words, when we speak, we are basically accessing and using a set of samples (phonemes/words) archived in a database we carry, called our «memory». Such combinations are presented and accepted as «property» when they are placed in a format that is considered more static (writing), which we then treat as an object (a corpse) we can go back to and re-read as needed, as long as we accept the premise that the word arrangement will not change. In the end, this is an ideology, as by now we know that even when a text can be considered static, it is not the same due to the process of interpretation performed by the reader. [7]

Just like words are the building blocks of a written text, musical notes are the basic building blocks of music. Digital material such as videos, still images and texts uploaded to websites, blogs, databases and social media platforms online become the building blocks of contemporary global communication. Just like we can separate a written text into multiple pieces, from a book, to chapters, to paragraphs to sentences, to phrases, to words, to syllables and to each letter composing the written composition, digital technology similarly enables us to take apart any digitally produced work, to then repurpose segments as we see fit.

With computer technology, data becomes intensities; data becomes a type of informational vector that can be implemented as desired or needed. [8] With the speed of network communication the perception of things being static is coming to an end [9], and the ever-changing state of forms produced (viral memes on YouTube and social media are an early example of this) will become valued more than a single instance of production; if technology keeps moving as it currently is, we may be able to view along with any regenerated object its history, as well as a prognostication of where it may be going. [10] In short, nothing is original, just unique to the moment in which it is experienced.

This text was published first in a shorter version in the second Norient book «Seismographic Sounds». Click on the image to know more.

[1] I deliberately list books by black and white authors to emphasize the political and cultural importance that must be kept in mind when text-mining is performed. Data-mining becomes an empty academic exercise if it is not performed while keeping in mind the political and cultural importance of a work of literature.[2] Theodor Adorno, Minima Moralia, trans. E.F.N. Jephcott (New York: Verso, 2005). Online: 2005 translation by Dennis Redmond, last accessed May 7, 2015.[3] Eduardo Navas, «Preliminary Notes on Analysis of Theodor Adorno’s Minima Moralia Part 2», last updated March 1, 2015.[4] Eduardo Navas, «Preliminary Notes on Analysis of Theodor Adorno’s Minima Moralia Part 3», last updated April 16, 2015.[5] This is certainly not new. Professors in the past plugged sentences into search engines to check for plagiarism. Turnitin.com developed a business model based on this simple action and now provides it as a service to universities across the U.S., accessed May 10, 2015. I am using this action as a research tool as explained above, but also as the means to develop an actual artwork. For the development of Minima Moralia Redux, see: «The Beginnings of Remix Data as Research: Preliminary Notes on Analysis of Theodor Adorno’s Minima Moralia», last updated August 11, 2014.[6] YouTube works with Zefr to scan material, accessed may 11, 2015, http://www.zefr.com/. YouTube provides support to report infringement, accessed May 11, 2015, «Submit a copyright takedown notice».[7] See footnote 15 in this text, in which I discuss Derrida and De Landa.[8] Based on ideas by Deleuze and Guattari, see «Of The Refrain», and «Becoming Animal».[9] It is well known at this point that everything is in flux and that cultural evolution moves faster than natural evolution. See Kurzweil, De Landa, and Toffler.[10] A current example of this is Google trends. The user can input any term, including name of authors and view how it has flowed in the past few years; there is an option for a forecast of how the term will likely perform in the future based on prior performance, along with other variables Google does not disclose. See Google Trends, last accessed May 6, 2015.

Eduardo Navas is the author of Remix Theory: The Aesthetics of Sampling, and co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Remix Studies. He implements cultural analytics and digital humanities methodologies in order to research the creative and political role of recyclability and remix in art, media, and culture. His production includes art & media projects, critical texts, and curatorial projects. He has presented and lectured about his work and research internationally.

He has lectured on art & media theory, art history as well as studio practice at various colleges and universities in the United States, including Otis College of Art & Design, San Diego State University, the program of Culture and Media at Eugene Lang College as well as the MA Media Studies Program at The New School for Public Engagement, NY. Navas currently researches and teaches principles of cultural analytics and digital humanities in The School of Visual Arts at The Pennsylvania State University, PA.